Before There was War, There was Us
by AllroundPrincess
Summary: Prequel to The Gypsy and Her Gangsta A story detailing how Evie and John got together. Their highs, their lows and everything in between. Nothing is simple when falling for a Shelby


**A/N Hello! Welcome to my new little prequel story for The Gypsy and her Gangsta! They can be read alone or together and it doesn't matter which one you read first! I had so many ideas for Evie and John when they first started dating that I had to write them all and publish them here! These will cover from February 1914 until August 1914 when John and the boys go off to war. **

**I hope you all enjoy :) **

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**February 1914 - Evies 16th Birthday (Part 1)**

It was 1914 and the day of my 16th birthday and even though Ada and I knew that Tommy, Polly and Arthur had planned a party at the Garrison for me later that evening, neither of us felt like waiting. We both snuck out to the Garrison at lunch time and were the first through its doors when it opened. Harry greeted us with a smile. "Afternoon, girls. Happy birthday, Evie." Ada and I smiled sweetly back. We each took a seat at the bar, Ada ordered a bottle of rum and two glasses. Harry looked between us, unsure but got us what she asked for.

I don't know how long we had been in there and I have no idea how much we drank but by time Freddie Thorne and the Shelby brothers walked in, the Garrison was nearly full and we were very drunk, dancing on the bar with no shoes on. The whole pub when silent when they walked in and Ada and I froze. "Evie! Do you think they saw us?" Ada stage whispered before dissolving into a fit of giggles. I laughed with her, "The fun police have arrived!" I told her before taking another mouthful of the bottle of whiskey I had in my hand. "Everybody out, now!" Arthur shouted.

Ada and I rolled our eyes before continuing to twirl along the bar. "I'm sorry, Mr Shelby! They kept swiping bottles from behind the bar and I didn't notice! I told them to get down but they wouldn't listen to me." Harry tried to explain, wringing the cloth in his hands nervously. "It's alright, Harry." Tommy assured him, crossing the now empty pub to us. "Right, down. The pair of you." Tommy commanded, looking up at us. We paused and looked at each other before bursting into more giggles. "Oh come on, Tommy. Don't be so boring! It's Evies birthday!" Ada told him, taking the bottle from my hand and taking a drink.

Arthur, Freddie and John had moved so they were stood in a line with Tommy, covering end to end of the bar. John and Tommy were closest to me while Freddie and Arthur were concentrating on Ada. "What are you going to do? Drag us home by our ankles?" I laughed. None of the men laughed and I shared a look with Ada. "Just come down! Before you hurt yourselves." Arthur told us, holding a hand out to Ada. Ada thought he was making a move to grab her so she came towards me, knocking me and, in my slippery stockings, making me slip straight off the bar. I let out a shriek as I fell, closing my eyes in anticipation of hitting the hard floor.

But instead of landing on the wooden floor, I landed in a pair of arms. I opened my eyes to see John looking down at me. "Hello." I chuckled, nervously. He didn't look amused. He went to put me down but I quickly wrapped my arms around his neck. "No!" I shouted. "I'm not wearing any shoes!" I told him, waving my feet in the air to prove my point. He rolled his eyes at me, "Where are they?" he asked, looking around the room. I shrugged, watching his face. After a moment of looking around for my shoes, he looked back at me. I gave him a small smile as he looked at me. "NO!" Ada screamed, causing John and I to look over to her. She had made it down from the bar without being caught and was running the three men around the pub, laughing as she went.

John shook his head. "While you lot catch her, I'm taking Evie home. If you see her shoes, bring them as well." John said, walking towards the door. "You could at least buy me a drink first." I giggled, resting my head on his chest as we went out to the brisk night. "Is that what Edward Cooper did?" John asked. I tensed and when I looked up at him, he was looking straight ahead. "What did you say?" I asked, quickly sobering. "I ain't stupid, Eve. I do know about you two." he said, finally looking down at me. "How?" I questioned. "Because I know you, Evie. I knew the moment we walked in on you and Polly tearing into each other." He told me, looking up again. "Why didn't you say anything?" I asked him, confused. "Because you have to make your own mistakes." he told me, simply. "You don't need my permission." He added.

"Your permission? Why would I need your permission?" I questioned, defensive. "I am saying you don't." he told me. "But why would you say it in the first place? This is the most we have talked in over a year. I certainly don't need to ask you, or anyone else for that matter, for permission to do what I want to do." I told him, my anger building. "You're being ridiculous." he told me. I could see the anger building in his face but I couldn't stop myself. "It's not like you care about me anyway." I mumbled, just loud enough for him to hear. I was suddenly put on the cold floor, just about finding my feet as John moved his arms from me. "Alright, I don't care. You can fucking walk home." he told me, heading towards Watery Lane.

I stood shocked for a minute, the cold biting its way through my stockings. "Excuse me?!" I shouted, going after the Shelby. "You can't just dump me on the floor and walk away!" I called, following him. "Why not? I don't care about you so why should I care if you are walking round barefeet in the dark." he called over his shoulder still walking. I had just about caught up by time he reached the front door. I pushed past him into the house and stood in the hallway, blocking him from going any further. "You owe me an apology." I told him, crossing my arms against my chest. He scoffed. "I bloody don't." he retorted, crossing his arms.

I frowned up at him before turning and walking up the first two steps, he had gone to follow me but was startled when I turned to face him again. "I don't like it when you look down at me." I told him, noticing my eyes were in line with his lips. "I don't like it when you act like a brat." he countered. I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to stop looking at his lips. "Look, what happened between Edward and I has nothing to do with you." I told him. "Didn't say it was." he replied. "I can do what I want." I added, slowly losing the anger. He nodded, a playful grin on his face.

"You can't tell me what to do. I am not a Shelby and never will be." I told him, the anger had gone and I was left frowning at him. "Why are you agreeing with me?" I asked, confused. "You want me to tell you that you have to do what I say and that you will be a Shelby?" he asked, still grinning. My drunken mind stumbled. "What do you mean I'll be a Shelby?" I whispered. He looked like he was going to say something else but his siblings came through the door. "Right, the two of you are going to bed. Go on. I don't want to hear from you for the rest of the night." Arthur told us, gently pushing Ada towards me on the stairs. "Alright, Arthur." Ada said obediently, frowning at John and I on the stairs. He moved out of her way and she started pushing me up the stairs. "Night!" she called behind her.

Only once she had closed our bedroom door did I realise why she was so obedient about going to bed. She turned and pulled out a bottle of whiskey from her coat, waving it around with a smile. I grinned back at her, taking the bottle and downing a few mouthfuls. I was eager to forget the conversation I had just had with John.

John POV

The girls had finally gone quiet upstairs and Tommy, Arthur and I had decided we deserved a drink after everything that had happened. We were each on our third glass when there was banging on the door. We looked between us, none of us expecting visitors. Tommy went to answer the door and I heard the distinct voice of Curly. "Tom! You gotta come quick, Tom! They're like wild horses! Can't catch 'em, Tom!" Curly babbled, we all looked amongst ourselves. "Who are, Curly?" Tommy questioned. "Evie and Ada, Tom! Running round like wild horses. They're not even dressed, Tom! And no shoes! It's not right!" Curly told him, panic rising in his voice. I stood up, taking the stairs two at a time to get to the girls room. When I flung open the door their beds were empty and the window was wide open. "They ain't fuckin here." I shouted, running back down the stairs. "They've gone out the fuckin window." I told them, grabbing my coat.

Evie POV

Ada and I were running rings around Charlie, who was desperately shouting at us to stand still. Ada spotted the approaching men before me. "The fun police!" she shouted and we darted behind a nearby barn. We heard Charlie talking to the men and we knew they wouldn't be happy. We heard them approach. "Come on, girls. It's time to go home and stop ruining your stockings." Arthur called. Ada and I giggled. I stepped out from behind the barn. "Well, dear Arthur. That would be our concern, if we were wearing them." I told them, pulling up the side of my knee length night gown to show them my naked leg, accidentally flashing more thigh than I intended. Ada made a break for it round the other side of the barn and Tommy and Arthur went after her, leaving John and I looking at each other.

"I ain't chasing you." he told me, slowly walking towards me. "I wouldn't want you to, John Shelby." I told him, turning on my heel and walking away from him. "Evie!" he called as I heard him picking up his pace. "No, John. I don't want to speak with you." I told him haughtily, continuing to walk towards the edge of the yard. He soon caught up to me, grabbing my wrist he must have misjudged how stable I was on my feet as when he pulled me round to him I fell into his chest. We were both taken back by the sudden impact but when I went to pull away, John held me in place with a hand on my waist. He allowed me to pull back slightly, to look up at his face. Even though I only came up to his shoulder without my usual heels, his height didn't intimidate me. He was looking down at me with an intense gaze. "What are you doing?" I whispered, not wanting to break the eye contact. He didn't respond. I tried to pull away a bit more but his hands kept me where I was. "What do you want from me, John?" I asked, looking up at him with sad eyes. "I want you." he whispered.

That surprised me and my eyebrows shot up to my hairline. I wasn't sure what to do. He let go of my wrist and place his hand on my cheek. My heart skipped a beat. My body moved of its own accord, rising onto my tiptoes, I brought a hand to the back of his neck and pulled him down towards me. He placed a very chaste kiss to my lips before pulling away again. I tried pulling him back down to me, using his body to balance me as I tried rising higher on my toes. He shook his head, chuckling slightly. "Not here. Not now." He told me, brushing his thumb along my cheek.

I brought my heels back to the ground with a thump, a frown etching on my face and my hand dropping to his chest. "Why?" I questioned, searching his face. He laughed. "Because, I don't want to do this when you are drunk and shoeless in the middle of Uncle Charlie's yard wearing your nightie." I laughed, "Yeah, probably doesn't look great." I said, looking at the floor. "Come on, give me a cuddle." he told me, wrapping his arms around me properly.

I wrapped my arms around his waist and pressed my cheek into his chest. I smiled at the warmth as I breathed in his scent and he pressed a kiss to the top of my head. He pulled away after a few moments as he must have felt me shivering, he quickly removed his coat and placed it around me. "I'll come find you tomorrow, on my lunch or something. We will talk then and I can give you your present." he told me, rubbing his hands up and down my arms to try to warm me up. I nodded, smiling up at him. He kissed my head again before looking down at my dirty bare feet. "Come on, I'll give you a piggyback." he told me before turning and crouching in front of me. I laughed before climbing on his back, tightening my arms around his neck as he held my thighs and stood straight.

It didn't take us long to find the other Shelbys and Ada did not look well. She was bent over a barrel with Arthur holding her hair and Tommy rubbing her back. I grimaced when I saw her and John came to a stop a few feet away. "I'm not even sure you're a Shelby, ya know, Ada? Spewing up after a few drinks. Evie is still laughing and giggling over here." John laughed, gently pinching underneath my thighs to make me laugh. "Piss off, John, we all know Evie is a fuckin head case." Ada responded, standing up and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. The boys laughed as I scowled at Ada, resting my chin on Johns shoulder.

I must've fallen asleep on the journey home as the next thing I knew I was being rudely awakened by Polly throwing open the curtains in mine and Adas room, letting the sun stream into the room. "Come on, girls. Wakey wakey." she said, cheerily before ripping the blankets off both our beds. We both groaned, trying to bury our faces into our pillows. "Get dressed and get downstairs for breakfast. You've both had enough of a lie in." she told us before leaving with our blankets. I sat up slowly, swallowing the waves of nausea as I looked across at Ada who had curled into a ball on her side. "You look as bad as I feel." she told me, her throat hoarse. "I feel like death." I told her. "It was a brilliant night though." she laughed. "It was." I replied, thinking back to John and I's kiss. "Freddie told me he loved me." Ada whispered. "What?!" I stage whispered, hangover forgotten I went and got onto her bed with her. She nodded, a big grin on her face. "And what did you say?" I asked, she shrugged. "I said I'd think about it." she replied, dissolving into giggles. "Ada Shelby!" I laughed.

"I told you two to get dressed." Polly scolded when Ada and I came down in our night dresses and robes. We were still giggling from our conversation about Freddie and it seemed to dampen her mood slightly. "You two nearly gave your Uncle Charlie a heart attack, running round in your nighties like a couple of waifs at all hours of the morning." she scolded, placing some bread, butter and jam in front of us. "And do you two know how much you drank yesterday? Three bottles were gone from the Garrison last night, no wonder you were ill, Ada." she told us, hands on her hips. "We are Shelby women, Polly. It's what we do." I laughed, taking a bite from my buttered bread. Polly raised an eyebrow at me. "A Shelby woman? I thought you told John that you never was and never would be one?" Polly said. My stomach turned at the mention of his name. "Well he upset me." I told her, knowing how childish I sounded. "Did I hear the name Edward Cooper being mentioned?" She retorted, raising an eyebrow at me.

Before I could respond the doors to the shop opened and the Shelby brothers walked through. "Good morning, girls! How are we feeling this fine morning?" Arthur boomed, obviously hoping to effect our disappearing hangovers. We simply smiled up at him. "I'm actually feeling quite good." I remarked taking another bite from my bread. "Me too. We have to do it more often, Eves." Ada added, grinning and nudging my arm. The eldest Shelby shook his head, sitting opposite us while Tommy poured himself some tea and John leant against the side board behind me.

"I'm surprised your head ain't hurting, Eves. You whacked it on the floor hard enough." Tommy laughed, taking a sip from his steaming cup and sitting next to me. "I didn't hit my head, John caught me when I fell off the bar." I told him, confused. "You fell off the bar?" Polly asked, disbelief in her voice. "She did. But I was talking about when our John dropped you on the way back from Charlie's." Tommy told me, a smile on his face, obviously hoping to get his brother in trouble. I turned to look at John. "You dropped me?" I asked, shocked. "Nah, look right. I technically still had ya, you just kinda let go and fell backwards. But I still had ya." He told me, glaring at his brother. "And you were too short to hit the floor." He added, causing Ada, Tommy and Arthur to laugh. I glared around at them but I couldn't help but laugh too. "Being short has its perks." I laughed, taking another bite of my buttered bread.

"If you two can make it through the day without getting drunk today, we will celebrate Evie's birthday sensibly tonight." Arthur told us, pointing a finger between Ada and I. We smiled innocently at the man, staying silent whilst eating our breakfast.


End file.
